NORTHERN Ireland is expected to bask in some bright winter sunshine in the next few days as the rest of the UK bears the brunt of the ongoing cold spell.
It is feared that scattered snow showers and freezing temperatures will make roads across Britain treacherous, forecasters have warned.
The Met Office upgraded its cold weather alert to ‘level 3’, saying there was a 100 per cent probability of “severe” conditions across most of England this week.
According to the Met Office temperatures will drop to as low as -6C today and tomorrow, when daytime maximums will be no more than 3C.
A high pressure system hanging over Scandinavia and western Russia is pushing raw, easterly winds towards the UK, meaning this will be the longest spell of cold weather so far this winter, experts say.
Clare Allen, forecaster with MeteoGroup, the Press Association’s weather division, said an easterly wind was bringing across snow showers off the North Sea. However, Northern Ireland will only experience a brief spell of snow on Friday before milder weather rolls in.
“Over the next few days, Northern Ireland will have clear skies, meaning some nice winter sunshine for all parts, with temperatures typically between 2C and 4C. There might be some snow on Friday, before it turns milder,” said Tony Conlan, a forecaster with MeteoGroup UK.